Edition 4
Safeguarding Children Partnership Board
The latest board meeting was held on 5 March 2025, at which there was a busy agenda which reflected the level of partnership activity since the last Safeguarding Children Partnership (SCP) Board in December 2024.
Key areas for discussion and consideration:
NEL SCP performance dashboard
The board considered the latest dashboard which supports the SCP to understand the effectiveness of local arrangements. The board also received a presentation of the Police data (via the vulnerability dashboard) which will greatly inform and enhance the SCP dashboard and data analysis.
Children and adult services networking event
Led through the SCP and Adult Services, along with the voluntary and community sector, a networking event has been scheduled on 8 April 2025 from 9am to 3pm at Centre 4. There will be around thirty stalls, in a market style event, representing local agencies, services and organisations relating to children and adults. The purpose is to network with partner agencies and learn more about their role and remit over coffee and cakes.
SCP New Website Launch Event
The board got a preview of the new SCP website that is currently being developed and will assist greatly with the delivery of the local arrangements. The site will be launched at an SCP event on the 6 May 2025 at Centre 4 from 1pm to 4pm. There will also be a focus on child exploitation and on changes to the harmful sexual behaviour process and guidance.
Voice and engagement
Children’s Services presented work undertaken in respect of voice and engagement with children and young people. This included details of a winter wishes event where children fed back they liked the event and felt listened to. There was also clarity around the recent commitment, through the NEL Children Young People and Families ‘Stronger Together’ Strategy, around our focus on voice and engagement at an individual, service and strategic level, and to enabling engagement.
Lead Safeguarding Partner assurance reporting
A meeting took place between two of the three Lead Safeguarding Partners and three Delegated Safeguarding Partners who are accountable and responsible for delivering the local arrangements. It was a positive meeting, which demonstrated the progress made to date, with further opportunities identified for clarity and development, and it was agreed that another meeting be planned to look at the delivery and impact of local arrangements.
Sub Group Progress:
Sub group chairs reported into the board, key highlights included
- The Safeguarding Performance Practice and Assurance Group (SPPAG) received assurance reports from partner agencies evidencing how they have contributed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and the four SCP priorities across the system
- The Safeguarding Practice Learning and Development Group (SPLAD) is overseeing the revision of the Pre Trial Therapy Protocol and is delivering the SCP Scrutiny and Assurance Framework which includes case specific line of sight practice learning events
- The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Group (CSPR), has developed two Rapid Review action plans, with one being complete and the other which is being embedded and overseen by the SPLAD in terms of progress and impact
- The Safeguarding Practice Thematic Strategic Group is overseeing the embedding of the strategic delivery plans for both neglect and child sexual abuse. The group are currently developing an approach to championing key themes across the partnership which will include practice principles and the use of tools to support the delivery of the SCP priorities aligned to the local arrangements
- The Child Exploitation Strategic Group have overseen the development and launch of the Child Exploitation Strategy, a local profile is being developed which the police dashboard will contribute to in addition to children’s services and wider agency data
- The Early Help Strategic Group has revised the Early Help Strategy and priorities and are overseeing the implementation of the early help developments via a strategic delivery plan
Scrutiny and Assurance
Learning and Practice
The board signed off one rapid review action plan which wascomplete and acknowledged where the actions had informed practice.
Elective Home Education
An assurance report was provided on Elective Home Education (EHE), in which the emphasis was on agencies intervening at an early stage. There are a number of developments locally that will
support the process including the introduction of an education welfare officer to support the full time EHE coordinator role
Public Health Nursing provision and assurance reporting
The local offer was clarified and details were provided in respect of the Healthy Child Programme, universal and universal plus provision
Reports received for information
The following reports provided assurance to the SCP:
- Independent Reviewing Officer annual report
- Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) annual report
A Focus on Anti Racist Practice
The Safeguarding Practice Learning and Development (SPLAD) Group are considering the local development of anti-racist practice.
The national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel have recently published a practice briefing that explores what happened to 53 children from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds who were
the subject of child safeguarding reviews between January 2022 and March 2024.
The purpose of this briefing is to share learning from analyses of rapid reviews and local child safeguarding practice reviews (LCSPRs) to inform the work of safeguarding partners.
‘It’s silent’: Race, racism and safeguarding children, CSPR Panel, 2025
The following resources are available to all organisations and provide information on anti-racist practice.
Promoting anti-racism in children and family services | Research in Practice 2022
Exploring adultification, Youth Justice Resource Hub
SCP Education and Training Developments
Charging for training
Delegated Safeguarding Partners previously made a decision that all SCP education and training would be free to the voluntary and community sector in NEL in supporting their work and by removing any financial barriers. This came into force on 1 November 2024.
Following this, Delegated Safeguarding Partners made a decision that there will be no charges for SCP education and training for all agencies, with the exception of a charge to meet the cost, when the SCP commission external trainers to deliver specialist training. The voluntary and community sector will still be exempt from all associated costs. This comes into force from 1 April 2025.
SCP Training and Education Brochure
As part of the review of SCP training and education offer and arrangements, a SCP training and education brochure has been developed, aligned to the delivery of the local arrangements and priorities. The brochure provides details of training and education opportunities, including face to face training and webinars.
SCP Training and Education Strategy
The SCP training and education strategy has been updated to reflect the developments to training and education arrangements and provides detail of how the impact of education and training on practice, will be assessed through evaluation, data analysis and audit.
Massive thanks to SCP Trainers
Board members expressed their appreciation to the practitioners from across children’s services, the police and health who deliver the SCP training and education offer as members of the SCP training pool. This demonstrates a fantastic commitment to the delivery of training and education from trainers who are experts in their field, and supports greatly with the delivery of the local arrangements and priorities. 624 people have undertaken the various SCP training and education courses in the last quarter, this equates to 32 events which is an increase of 12 from the last period.
Virtual College
The delivery of eLearning training through the Virtual College will end on the 14t April 2025. This is part of a planned transition whereby safeguarding eLearning will be part of the SCP training and education offer, which reflects local processes and practice.
Please ensure you have completed any safeguarding e-learning courses, linked to the Virtual College, by 13 April 2025 and ensure you have downloaded all certificates at this point in time, as access to the system will cease on this date.
Further details in respect of upcoming courses and how to access them will be communicated through the SCP.
Intra Familial Child Sexual Abuse Free eLearning training
The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse have developed free training for all practitioners which will support practitioners in identifying and responding to intra familial child sexual abuse. We are recommending all agencies complete the 90-minute training which will support with the delivery of the SCP Child Sexual Abuse Strategy.
What Next?
- Practitioners should take the opportunity to read the key strategies and documents provided in the links and share across their agencies in informing practice and partnership working
- The planning for the SCP annual report 2024/25 is currently being completed and will be presented to the SCP Board in June 2025 alongside the Local Arrangements 2025/26
Contact us
If you have any queries around the SCP Board, or local arrangements, or if you have any ideas as to what you’d like to see in the newsletter, please contact: [email protected]
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